TOPIC: poster boxes

Our outdoor illuminated poster display boxes
are scrtched (someone did not know how to clean them) and they are stained (color from a poster has leeched into the plastic/lexan/plexiglass/whatever.
Does anyone have a good source for these?
I found one, Sonic Equipment in Kansas. Wondering if there's comparison shopping
to be done.

Here's an alternative to consider: the plastic frames can likely be refinished in either acrylic lacquer or acrylic enamel by someone who knows autobody proceedures... The Lexan can be replaced, but first try rubbing out the stains with automotive rubbing compound, then polishing out with toothpaste: requires some elbow grease, but works... P.S. "Gleem" toothpaste works well...

The scratches are fine and allover. They look like steelwool scratchings. Or heavy duty pot-scrubber.

The local glass installation company, (also does plastic) said that the boxes were not made with a mind to replacing the material.
My head projectionist agreed that, if disassembled, they might not go back together.....will look into the autobody option.

Toothpaste is just to finish up with, you need to start with something a lot more abrasive, like automotive rubbing compound, BUT if they're THAT BAD, replacement of the lexan may be the only way out... IF the lexan can't be taken out without destroying the frame, you can take a FINE TOOTH sabre saw and CUT the old lexan out, leaving 1/4" of the old lexan intact around the perimeter... Paint the frames (and that 1/4" of lexan still in the frame) then Super Glue the new lexan to the back of that remaining 1/4"... When it's finished it will look like it was made that way!...

The theatre I grew up working for still has its original 1947-vintage 40X60 frames. When it came time to decide whether they were worth keeping, the owner took them to a local shop. They came back looking like new. We added fluorescent tubes to light 'em up, and they're still in service today.

On the other hand, you can probably spend a lot more at the car shop than it would cost to get a couple of new Bass cabinets... so it's probably a good idea to do some shopping around... both at the autobody shop and at your friendly local equipment supplier!

We ended up oputting ours together ourselves. It wasn't easy but we went to a local cabinet shop for the housing, bought some flourescent lights, ordered up some translucent plex and voila, had a couple of lighted poster boxes. They aren't entirely professional looking, but, they look plenty good to me. We ended up spending about half of that $800 figure (and that was for two of them). Anyway, just an idea.

Good for you, Leeler. It is always good to see an exhibitor show not only initiative, but also creativity. It is something little seen these days, and it invogorates our industry. Patrons love to see some imagination displayed in the theatre/cinema setting, since they come there to be entertained, not just to buy some old product. If the boxes look good to you, they will probably look good to everyone else too, and your efforts not only save money, but show that cinemas need not be rubber stamp copies of each other as so many became from the '60s till now. It is in the interests of the suppliers to cinemas that they all use essentially the same products and thus look the same, but that is not in your interests! Best Wishes. Jim

Jim R. (new E-mail:
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) member: www.HistoricTheatres.org